Sonic the Hegehog: Finale
by Frieza2000-XTC
Summary: My idea for the story of the final Sonic the Hedgehog game
1. Chapter 1

Brilliant sunshine flowed gracefully across a land rich with life. The sky was a tapestry of light entwined with a magical element not often seen by man. The gentle rustling of trees in the wind and the distant sound of running water were the only sounds that permeated this haven. It was the time between day and night when all creatures went quiet: some resting, some rising. But the anxious silence of the coming change was broken as the weary trotting of sneakers approached.

A bedraggled blue figure came to a gradual stop at an abrupt ledge. The amber fire standing on the horizon illuminated the tired glaze on his eyes, though he showed no signs of fatigue. For a moment he absorbed the lush forest scene, no visible emotion in his stance. As his senses returned to him, he cocked his head slightly and asked himself in an oblivious voice, "Is that sun rising or setting?"

Sonic's confusion was not without good reason. Just moments ago he had been running, but not running like a normal being. He had been running for three days straight. But it wasn't the lack of food or sleep that made him groggy. Sonic had more than enough energy to function for at least another day before he felt the effects of those basic needs.

When the world wasn't under attack, Sonic got bored. When Sonic got bored, he ran. Sometimes, however, usually when he ran for a long time without stopping, he would enter some sort of trance. He found his senses weakening, his mind growing quiet. It was as though his body itself was just a distant echo in the back of his perception. He could still see where he was and control his movements, but somehow he felt he didn't have to. In this state, he could race aimlessly for days through all manner of terrain, fully unaware of his surroundings, until this dream-like state gradually faded.

Whether it was his supersonic version of meditation or just the blood rushing to the back of his head, Sonic was never sure. He didn't really hate when it happened. What he hated was waking up from it.

Sonic literally shook off his daze along with some of the other thing that had gathered in his pelt. Pulling a few twigs from his quills and brushing the dust off his arms, he wandered leisurely down the cliff side toward a trickling noise.

"_Man,_" he thought, eyes to the ground, "_this is gettin' old._"

Life hadn't exactly been thrilling as of late. Robotnik hadn't shown his face in what felt like ages; Tails was holed up in his workshop making some little gadgets. "Sometimes I think he idolizes Robotnik more than me," Sonic thought. Even Amy was too busy to hang out.

"_I'm wishing for Amy? I must be getting REALLY desperate._"

Sonic let these concerns slip away as he arrived at the river's edge. The amber light reflected on the glistening blue surface played on the surroundings. It was soothing, but the tranquil scene hardly suited the anxious hedgehog's current mood.

Ever the glutton for style, Sonic dashed up the side of a nearby oak and kick-flipped off the top.

"Cannonball!"

The river's boundaries were expanded as the splash from a spinning ball of fur lapped up on the shore. A small whirlpool appeared before the water even had a chance to settle. Once satisfied that his washing machine impression had done its trick, the spiky haired hero jumped back on land and shook himself dry.

"Ah! That was refreshing. Now…"

Sonic's monologue stopped as he turned his eyes to the sun. He examined it closely for a few seconds. He was pretty sure now that it was setting. He considered finding somewhere to rest for the night, but he wasn't the least bit tired. In fact, he felt like he'd just woken up. What he really wanted now was some adventure.

As he prepared to dart of into the sunset again, Sonic did something he rarely ever did. He stopped moving. Tilting his ear to the forest behind him, he listened intently. There wasn't a sound for miles, but the animal senses of the hedgehog could feel something. It felt like a deep base running through the ground. It became steadily stronger, growing into a tremor. Sonic could hear the distant shrubbery blowing wildly in its wake. Something was coming, and it was probably big.

Rushing to the source, the furry adventurer found the trees themselves parting, forced down by the output of the massive engines overhead. He glanced skyward and beheld a gargantuan airship. Its metal frame shone glaringly bright in the falling sunlight, masking its details. While Sonic couldn't make out an egg-like insignia anywhere on it from his current position, he had a pretty good idea who it belonged to. It had to be at least 100 times bigger than anything with a commercial use. A confident grin leapt to the hedgehog's face as he watched it cruising into the western sunset.

"Well it's about time," he said with a hint of sarcasm. "Wonder what Eggman has up his sleeve this time." He took his running stance. "Well, I'm sure he'll be expecting me. Wouldn't want to disappoint him."

Instantly, the blue blur was gone, darting through the forest paths in pursuit of the flying fortress.


	2. Chapter 2

It was early afternoon in the wind swept hills of the Poloza peninsula. Lush, unending grass swayed tranquilly on the cliffs overlooking the rocky shore. The fierce beating of the waves on the rock face and the occasional rush of the sea breeze filled their onlooker with renewed awareness, but at the same time, serenity. It was the kind of day that life was made for. The cloudless sky proclaimed the promise of all possibilities, echoing the golden sun's guarantee of prosperity to anyone with a dream and the determination to follow it.

Tails stepped out of his workshop into the cool sea air, rolling his head and stretching his arms. There was something about these windy spots that made him feel at home. He always built his workshops near an ocean or on a mountain. Aside from providing a free energy source and giving him extra lift for his flight practice, the lofty currents seemed to carry something that reminded him of the wonder of life.

As he followed the path of stones that lead to the edge, the young fox indulged in that wonder. He'd been up since sunrise working on his latest technical marvel. After days of tedious work, he was almost ready to test it again. He hadn't eaten since the previous night, but he hardly even noticed in his excitement. All of his work was finally about to pay off.

"_The next time Sonic needs me, I'm gonna be ready._"

A cool gust rose from the waters below. The updrafts around here were great for flying, he thought. He could reach heights way beyond his usual limits, and stay up twice as long. It was a great spot to work on his aerial combat. To date, he'd never actually had a chance to use it against Robotnik, but when the time came he would be ready.

Tails considered going for a quick spin around the area, but before he could decide, his ears perked at the distant sound of a sputtering engine. He turned to find a small red jalopy emerging from the horizon. It raced down the dirt road toward his shop, wildly swerving on every turn. He quickly recognized both the car and the poor driving skills.

He hurried back down the path as the blazing auto came to a screeching stop by his front door. The furry pink driver hopped out over the side and dusted herself off.

"Darnit Tails, why do you always have to put these workshops so far away from civilization?" Her pouting expression quickly reshaped itself into her usual charming disposition as she noticed her two-tailed friend standing in front of her.

"Hey Tails!" she said without missing a beat.

"Hi Amy. New outfit?" he asked, glancing at her green shirt and light brown mini-skirt.

"You mean this old thing? No, I've had it for years."

"Oh," he answered. "So…"

Tails always found it awkward when he was with Amy and Sonic wasn't around. Their only real connection was through him. Otherwise, they just didn't have much to say to one another. They both searched for something to break the silence.

"…what's up?" Tails finally asked after a brief pause.

"Not much. I still do readings in Station Square, still live in the same little apartment. I've been traveling a lot though. I was just passing by and thought I'd say hi."

"_Sure you did_," thought the fox.

"What about you?" she asked.

"Same old same old. Work on the Tornado, train a little, keep an eye out for Robotnik."

"Hm," she acknowledged.

"_Wait for it,_" he thought.

"So…"

"_3, 2, 1,_"

"Any news from Sonic?"

"_I knew it._"

Tails decided to keep his wit to himself for now and simply tell Amy the answer.

"I told you last time that I'd call."

She put her hands against her chest in a timid gesture. "I know, but I wanted to make sure you didn't forget."

Tails sighed. "No Amy, I haven't heard anything."

"Oh darn," her mood swung instantly back to pissed. "What's with him anyway? If the world isn't about to be demolished, he's off in the middle of nowhere doing who knows what, leaving the rest of us to worry about him! He's such a brat."

"You know he hates to stay in the same place for long," Tails tried to put some sense into the girl's emotional outburst. "Besides, he has to stay in shape in case Robotnik attacks again. Remember last time he went on one of these journeys? He came back almost twice as strong!"

"I know. But he could at least carry a cell phone or something," she grumbled.

"He can take care of himself."

"But still, I…I worry about him, that's all," she looked away to hide the unusually concerned look in her eyes.

"Whatever," Tails said, doing his best to ignore Amy's weird behavior, "I've gotta get back to work. I'll call if I hear anything."

"Ok. Nice seeing you," she said and got back into her car.

The two-tailed mechanic thought for a moment. "Hey Amy, I was just about to finish the last few adjustments on my new plane and I could use an audience. How'd you like to hang around for a while and watch? I'll even take you up with me if you want."

Amy leapt back out with enthusiasm. "Sure! Sounds like fun!"

Tails opened the door and gave her an inviting wave. "Well, make yourself comfortable. I'll be ready in a few hours."

"Great! And when you're done, maybe you could give this old thing a tune up," she said slapping the hood of the cherry-red mini-convertible. It backfired and let out a puff of smoke.

A westerly gale spun the weathervane as they entered Tails's house. The waves turbulently broke against the rocks, and the grass shuttered with anticipation, for when next that wind blew past, no heart would remain that was unchanged.


	3. Chapter 3

Unmoored amidst a sea of clouds hung a mass of magically suspended land. For ages it drifted through the realm of the skies, isolated. There was a time when it dwelt upon the world below with all other earthen bodies, but it ascended to the heavens to watch over the world like an angel, taking with it two divine treasures: a jewel of mysterious power, and a people of great honor. The jewel kept this lofty island floating on high, and the people guarded it with their lives. However, this relationship was somehow disrupted and the latter of these treasures was nearly lost. There remains now only one to uphold their sacred duty, and to carry on the legacy of this lost clan. He does not know what fate befell his kin, nor does he know what fate awaits him. He knows only that he must guard the hallowed emerald with all of his being and await the day when his destiny will be revealed. Until then, he lives each day without desire.

But not without questions.

It was a cloudy day on Angel Island. A rare gathering of fluffy gray bodies was drifting just a few thousand feet above, managing to block the sun for most of the day. This had no apparent bearing on the mood of the island's guardian as he strolled idly through the forest.

He had been searching the deepest recesses of the isle, looking for some clue of his past and that of his race. The search had been fruitless as usual, but he was neither discouraged nor disappointed.

"_It can wait,_" he thought. "_I've got my whole life to figure it out._" A cold gale lifted his dreadlocked fur. "_And so what if I never learn how I got here or what happened to the others? I know who I am, and I know what I'm here for._"

It was still early in the day, but Knuckles didn't like to leave the Master Emerald unguarded for long. Considering how many times it had been stolen, he was reluctant to leave it at all, but knew he couldn't just sit there forever. Presently he strolled back to the shrine, his mind troubled with new questions.

Knuckles had seen some disturbing images in his meditations recently. None of it was very clear; all he could gather from it was that something bad was coming, something that could change the world forever.

A chill ran through the lone echidna, and he hurried his pace. The visions had left him unusually shaken. Sonic was part of it somehow, and so was he. He'd gone over it again and again, trying to draw something he could use to prepare for it. The images passed quickly, and it was difficult to make out details. It was all masked with too much pain and fear.

It couldn't be just another half-baked world domination plan from Robotnik. Knuckles had dealt with more of those than he could remember, and he'd never had premonitions about any of them. Whatever it was, it was serious.

The woodland warrior suddenly realized that he was running. Something was wrong. He weaved between the trees as swiftly as he could, leaping over crevices and pounding his way through solid rock walls. His heart was racing, his senses so sharp they cut into his mind. He needed to make sure his emerald was safe. Out of breath, he exploded from the tree line surrounding the crumbled stone altar fully expecting to meet his nightmares on the other side. Nothing had changed. It was all the way he left it.

Knuckles sighed deeply. He hung his head to let the sweat trickle off, using two nearby trees to support himself. "Get a grip, Knuckles," he murmured reproachfully, catching his breath. "You're letting your fear control you."

He rested between the trees a few moments longer, ashamed that he'd let his anxiety get the best of him. It was clouding his senses, he thought. He couldn't let it happen again.

He closed his eyes and let the perspiration continue running off his face, quenching the fervor of moments ago. A peculiar and alarming sound made them snap open again. Where the slow beating of sweat drops should have been, there was the hiss of an igniting fire. His gasp of horror was drowned out by the roar of the flames consuming the entire island.

Orange plumes danced ambitiously across the shrine. Burning leaves were lifted from the treetops by the inferno of their own bodies. All plants, all life was dying before him. Even the mountaintops had become torches, wildly trembling in the frigid gales above. The dark sky had turned blood red, the reflection of the fire and death below dancing with elation across it.

The echidna shook with disbelief as he saw his home destroyed. Instinctively, he started running to the altar. On his first step, he tripped and met the ground face first. The blow to his head felt similar to waking up. Feeling more aware than before, he picked himself up and started running again but stopped after another step. The flames were gone. The sky was blue, the earlier clouds having parted. Everything was as it should be. He blinked his eyes and shook his head.

"_Was that real?_" he wondered, strolling toward the emerald. "_I…maybe this whole bad omen thing's got me worked up. Maybe I-_"

His train of thought was derailed as an egg shaped craft swooped down and bumped him on the head. He fell flat on his back.

"Worthless piece of junk!" a familiar voice yelled as it banged on the control panel. A figure leaned over the edge and peered down at him. "Hey, are you alright down there? I meant to stop in front of you, but this blasted thing hasn't been working right."

Once his head stopped spinning, Knuckles jumped to his feet. "Eggman!" he exclaimed. "What do you want? You know you're not welcome on my island!" he struck a fighting pose. "Hey, was that you who caused those hallucinations just now? Are you trying to trick me again?!"

"What? What are you babbling about?" the mad scientist puzzled.

"You can't fool me. Whatever you're up to, you might as well forget it. Now leave this place before I recycle that flying junk heap."

"What?! Why you little…" Robotnik started, but restrained his anger. "Uh, sorry for the intrusion, Knuckles, but I'm a bit short on time, you see. I need to borrow the Master Emerald."

Knuckles gave him a condensing look. "Oh, sure. You must've seen our add in the paper, 'All-powerful gem for rent, only ten cents a minute.'"

"Damnit, Knuckles, I'm serious! There's no time to explain, you just have to trust me!" he said in the most urgent and sincere voice he could manage.

"Man, this is pathetic. Even for you. I don't know what you're trying to pull, but you're gonna have to do better than that. Now get lost. That emerald is mine, and it stays here with me."

"You know, I don't have to _ask_ you. I could just take it like I always do. I was just trying to spare you the pain and embarrassment of losing."

With the tap of a button, Eggman's hover craft opened up with a pair of missiles. Knuckles easily jumped them, preparing to glide into the doctor's machine and put a good dent in it. But as he prepared to attack the missiles exploded beneath him, blasting him back. He crawled to his feet, only to be met by another missile barrage. He braced himself, but it wasn't enough to keep the explosion from knocking him off the side of the island.

Robotnik made a beeline for the emerald as soon as he felt sure that its guardian had no chance of beating him there. A claw reminiscent of a prize grabber descended from his contraption and lifted the glowing stone from its resting place. With his enemy nowhere in sight, he wasted no time in making his escape.

He felt a bump from underneath as he passed over the end of the ground. Behind him stood Knuckles, waving with one hand and holding the Master Emerald and detached grabber arm in the other. Robotnik's scowling face began turning red. With a shout of frustration, he unleashed a field of smaller missiles. Learning from his past encounter, Knuckles opted to run this time, cradling the huge gem in his arms. The tiny rockets followed in pursuit, one cluster chasing behind and another gaining ground beside him. The group behind was too close to make a turn, and the set to his right pulled in front of him and turned to trap him between the two. Feeling bright, Knuckled tried what he'd seen Sonic do once and jumped. But rather than colliding with each other, the little missiles weaved between each other and turned up to hit him.

Or rather, to hit the emerald.

Man and beast alike turned in dismay and annoyance as the glittering shards flew off the edge and drifted down to Earth.

"Grr, blast! Now look what you've done, you miserable rodent!" Eggman blamed.

"Aw great! Now the island is gonna fall into the sea!" Knuckles looked up from the ocean of clouds into which his emerald had disappeared and turned to Robotnik. "Do you have any idea how long it takes for the stink of seawater to wear off," he said through gritting teeth. "This whole place is gonna smell like brine for a month! Oh, I'll get you for this."

The fur clad fighter dove off the side and after the villain, but Eggman turned around and flew off.

"I haven't got time for this," he muttered. "There're more important things to be done."

Realizing that he couldn't catch up with Robotnik, the echidna returned to his home and gazed over the edge where the pieces had fallen. Patches of light and dark speckled that world he so rarely visited, shadowed from the day's rising luminance by immaculate white bodies. They drifted opposite him and his island today, passing below and behind his horizon. He closed his eyes and let out a deep hum.

"Well, I haven't done this in a while. Let's see if I've still got the ol' touch."

Deciding not to wait for the plummeting landmass to ferry him down, Knuckles dove off resigned to retrieve the fragments of the Master Emerald in record time.

Well, at least it was better than sitting around all day.


	4. Chapter 4

"Tails, are you done yet?"

An array of metallic banging, buzzing, and chirping sounds echoed from the tiny wooden structure, as they had for the last hour and a half. Amy lay stretched across the hood of her two-seat convertible, staring into the dreamy blue sky. The cramped confines of Tails's humble workshop had been far too stifling and just a little too dusty for her liking. Besides, she loved the fresh air and the comforting visions of nature. It seemed that in all her recent traveling, she'd hardly found time to stop and appreciate it. As the wind lifted her hair, so to did she feel it lift her heart. She felt the sun's warm hand gently caress her face. She smiled.

For a brief moment she felt free, free of the worries and fears that burdened her subconscious. For those few blissful seconds, nothing seemed to matter but being there and watching that sky. Her body fell limp, and breathing became relieving rather than laborious. "_Yeah…this is all I really need,_"she swooned, eyes swimming in the deep cloudless blue.

Then her mercurial personality kicked in and decided it was bored.

She sat up from her heavenly dream. "Can you hear me in there?" she yelled over the sound of a drill press with a hint of frustration. "Tails?"

The young hedgehog heaved a disappointed grunt and slid to the ground. She didn't like being alone. Her mind would either wander into that area she hated visiting, or she'd be bored. That never happened when she was with her friends. "_Especially Sonic,_" she blushed.

Trying her best to put these unpleasant thoughts aside, she looked for something to occupy her for a while. With a shrug and a smile, she threw herself backward into the car and turned on the radio. What she heard, while not the music she was expecting, quickly made her forget about everything that was bothering her.

Tails's face was buried in a bush of wires and circuit boards hanging from the front panel of a sleek metallic biplane. Everything Tails built was bi-something; two wings, two wheels, two modes, two compounds in the fuel. He considered it his trademark. This time though, he'd gone out if his way to make it bi-everything. There were two seats, two dashboards, two blades on the propeller, two sections to the windshield. There were three wheels, but they were doubled and divided into two sections. There were two rows of pistons, two layers of hull, and two solid rocket boosters mounted on either side. Even the steering wheel had two handles.

It was his finest creation, he thought. Its dated appearance masked the advanced flight and weapon systems it concealed. He had put all of his heart into it and it was almost perfect. All it lacked was a name and a paint job. He couldn't wait to show it off.

"_I'll bet it's even faster than Sonic!_"

His work was interrupted as Amy burst in, her face an uncertain mesh of excitement and worry.

"Tails, come listen!" she urgently beckoned.

The twin tailed boy followed without question. Amy ran ahead and turned up the volume.

"Shelter stations are being set up across the city," the announcer droned callously. "We've also received reports that the battle leveled the entire uptown industrial district. Once again, Metro City has been attacked. While no statement as to the origin or intent of this destruction has been made, eyewitnesses claim to have seen attack robots resembling those made by the rogue scientist, Dr. Robotnik."

"Hm. Looks like Eggman's at it again," the fox recited, not a hint of surprise or anxiety in his voice.

"Yeah, and we don't know where Sonic is…bummer. So…what do we do?"

Tails's face lit up. A childish smirk arose between his cheeks. He turned to his pink companion, eyes burning with enthusiasm. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to stop Eggman myself."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "What? Whoooa, hold on there kiddo," she began to caution.

"Amy, we can't just wait around," he said with a begging tone. "It might take Sonic _days_ to even _hear_ about this! Who knows how many more cities Eggman will destroy by then!?"

"I know, but still…" she trailed off as the radio cast changed voices.

"Officials say the battle between law enforcement and the aggressing army was short and devastating. Hundreds are left homeless and thousands without water or electricity. We've also received reports that a Chaos Emerald being housed somewhere within the city is missing. We'll have more information as this story develops."

"See?!" Tails exclaimed. "If Eggman gets enough Chaos Emeralds, we might not be able to stop him! I have to go!"

Amy hummed as she thought about it. "Well, I guess I'll just have to go with you then," she said gleefully, any hint of her previous concern now gone. Tails practically tripped over his own feet as he stumbled backward.

"Huh?" he blithered.

"That's right. You promised me some action today, remember? I sure didn't sit around here for the last two hours just to watch you fly off and have all the fun. Besides," she turned her eyes to the sky with her hands to her heart, "…we might run into Sonic."

Tails let out a sigh and motioned for the perky girl to follow him inside. He knew it was useless to argue with her when she wanted something. He'd seen Sonic try more times than he could remember.

The hedgehog anxiously strolled around the small room as her friend sifted through drawers and closets.

"Sooo, are you looking for keys to the Tornado or something?"

Tails answered with his usual amiable voice, not turning away from his search. "We're not taking the Tornado. It's too light. The news report said he had an army with him, and if it's still there that little plane would get shot down for sure."

"So then, how are we…" she paused, then scowled questioningly. "You don't mean we're going in _that_ thing, do you?!" she motioned at the plane Tails had been working on.

"It's out best chance," he answered plainly.

"But I thought it wasn't finished!"

"It is now."

"But it's untested! How do we know it'll even fly?!"

"You still coming," he slyly questioned.

"Of course," Amy said with newfound resolve. "Now let's go already!" She hopped into the back seat of the plane and sat there for quite a while before she realized Tails was still rummaging. "Um, hello?"

"Amy, before we can go after Eggman, we have to know where he is, right?"

The irritated girl replied, "Well duh!…oh, right. He's probably long gone by now. So then," she began to prod as Tails finally pulled a small device from a desk drawer.

The machine resembled a gameboy. It was rectangular, had an LCD screen, a directional pad, and two buttons. In fact, Amy was pretty sure that it had been a gameboy at one point in its life. There was nothing that really distinguished it from a portable gaming console apart from the lack of a cartridge slot.

Amy looked doubtfully at the furry brown mechanic as he showed her the screen. She remained unimpressed as she beheld the grid layout it displayed and the seven yellow dots blinking in rhythm with the beeping sound it gave off. "So what is it?"

Tails's patience continued as he explained the obvious. "It's an emerald radar. I made it one night when I was bored."

"Oh. So which one is Eggman?"

"Well wherever he is, he's only got one with him." Tails played with the controls for a moment, zooming in and out of each emerald. Something caught his eye. "Hey, two of them are moving!"

Amy eyes grew bright. "You think…one of them could be Sonic?"

"Hey, yeah! I'll bet it is!" the fox boy exclaimed. "But which one is he?" They pondered the screen for several moments. Both emerald signals were moving at about the same speed, both were heading toward another emerald, and there was no way to distinguish their altitudes on the radar. It seemed they would be forced to guess.

"I think we should go to that one." Amy pointed to the one west of them.

"So you think that one's Sonic?"

"I don't know. I just think it's the one we should go to."

"Well, you're the fortune teller," Tails resolved as he started to climb in. But just before he sat down, he suddenly jumped back out and ran upstairs to his bedroom, telling Amy to wait there. She wondered what on Earth he could be doing up there while Robotnik was out terrorizing the world, but her faith in the fox was renewed as he emerged from the staircase brandishing a violet gem. "We might need this."

But still, Tails did not climb into the plane. Rather, he walked over to the adjacent wall and pressed a foreboding red button. The sounds of spinning gears and a pumping engine were heard immediately, but nothing apparent happened. Amy watched him rush to the pilot seat just as the floor began to rise around her.

The platform the aircraft rested on sank into the ground through a short rock tunnel. As the portal sealed above them, a field of colorful lights set into the walls came alive. Amy's attention darted around, more than a little worried by Tails's wild flipping of switches.

The platform stopped in a small alcove in the cliff. The waves jumped up, momentarily covering the exit with a glittering sheet of sparkling blue. The pilot's overzealous augmentation of the controls instantly stopped as the ground seemed to being quaking.

"Ready for takeoff?" Tails yelled dramatically over the roar of the flaring engines.

"Uh-"

"Then let's go!!"

A gloved hand tore the throttle bar forward. Amber embers blasted through orange fur on a searing wind, illuminating a menacing grin. Amy covered her head as daggers of fire reflected off the back wall and wrapped around them. The roar of rockets soon gave way to the roar of splitting air as they exploded from the hole in the wall, dragging up a rising wave in their wake.

A mist of glittering light fell from their wings, soaring with them on the updrafts of the shore. The craft ascended, guided by the inaudible beeping of the radar, vigorously blazing through the cloudless ocean at unnecessary speeds. Amy tried to escape the onslaught of noise and motion by covering her ears and tucking her head between her legs. She hollered into the mad winds screaming all around her, "This thing could use a bigger windshield!!"

No sooner had she spoken than a frame of glass expanded from behind her and locked into place with the front windshield. The deafening howl faded to a mild rumble outside the now sealed cockpit. The relieved pink figure uncovered her ears and slumped back into her seat, her hair strewn across her face. Her pilot spoke, "I know, but me and Sonic like to feel the wind on our faces."

Amy groaned nauseously. "I have a bad feeling about this."

A brief flight of majestic scenery and sunny skies brings the eager pair to the edge of a place called Rootvillage. It was a secluded forest grove with a population of little more than 50. Animals of all races and clans lived there together in harmony with nature and one another. It was not unlike most animal villages; houses were either hollowed out trees or huts constructed from wood and rock, the people spent most of their time building or gathering food, and the highest example of technology was a pulley. But today, the usual peace of the community was somehow altered.

That alteration seemed to be emanating from the enormous battleship looming overhead.

The pulse of the radar grew quicker, and the horizon grew dark. As Tails and Amy drew closer, they saw the Earth's glow. They knew immediately what it was.

They were too late.

Towers of smoke clouded the forest, hiding the light from above. Restless fire played across the treetops. It climbed from branch to branch, tree to tree, consuming all it could touch. Hungrily it leapt at the sky, casting sparks beyond its reach, all doomed to fade away the moment they left its grasp.

The lack of many fallen trees proclaimed that the fire hadn't been started long ago. The approaching adventurers could only imagine the horror and chaos still developing below the burning veil. Amy put her hands to her mouth, unable to speak.

But the shock was short lived. As the supersonic jet drew closer, its passengers discerned a monstrous shadow though the black haze of destruction. Its details faded into view slowly. It was an airship, not outstandingly distinct from every other one Robotnik built. It was tan in color and reminiscent of the Flying Battery's shape, though powered by engines instead of rows of vertical propellers. One could make out a round face resembling the Eggman himself on every other piece of the hull, and more than likely the inside. What distinguished it from every other failed creation of Robotnik's, to Tails anyway, was the shear size of it. While some of it was still hidden behind the smoke, it looked about as big as a city. He had no idea what the lunatic could be hiding in there, but he had a feeling that getting to it wouldn't be easy.

Tails cut the afterburners and switched to a combination of propeller and lesser rockets to keep from flying past them. He turned his head and spoke to the seat behind him. "I guess you picked the wrong dot, huh?"

He smiled to himself, ignoring Amy's irritated glance reflected in the glass. But his amused expression quickly returned to a solemn one as he remembered that he was the only one who stood in Robotnik's way this time. Sonic wasn't there to take the bulk of the responsibility, so he would have to make his own choices. That was fine. After all, it was the chance Tails had been waiting for. He silently vowed to succeed, to prove himself. He stared forward with an unrelenting determination that only a child could have. Before him was a decision.

"The radar says there's 3 Chaos Emeralds here," he told his companion. "One is ours, one is on that flying fortress, and one is on the ground somewhere."

Amy responded in a faraway yet concerned fashion, "So, which one do we go after?"

Tails thought for a moment, then spoke with a calm and decisive tone. "We'll get the one on the ground. That way we can help the villagers while we're there. It's what Sonic would do."

The uneasy girl made a confirming noise and they began looking for a place to land. They quickly dropped that idea as chunks of the ground began rising up to meet them. But closer inspection revealed that it wasn't dirt coming at them. The clouds of black specks rising from the trees were metal.

Almost the instant Tails realized their situation, the sky lit up with the glow of bullets and bombs. The tiny jet barrel rolled upward, already being tailed by litters of homing missiles. Wave after wave of badniks emerged from below the forest canopy as well as from the airship. While they were no match for the unnamed plane's speed, there were more than enough of them to fill the sky with gunfire.

From above and below, the inescapable volley whizzed around Tails. Heavy artillery from the giant fortress, as well as arrays of smaller shots from the ridiculous number of robot fighters surrounding him, left him with little room to maneuver. The plane shook as energized bullets bounced off the sides, slowly working dents into the alloy hull. Missiles exploded just feet away from them, shaking the innards of the craft apart. Tails showed an unprecedented amount of skill, somehow dodging the bulk of the fire shower, but no amount of skill could avoid the insane barrage. At this rate, they'd either be shot down or blown up in midair within a minute.

Trying not to pull his attention away from the tempest of AA fire, Tails took one hand from the controls and probed the dashboard for a particular switch. The click it made and the rising hum of collecting energy that ensued assured him that it was working. A flash of light engulfed the body of the plane, instantly stopping the shaking of the weapons' storm. If one looked closely enough, one could see a faint lavender glow surrounding it.

As the shaking subsided, Amy finally got up the nerve to open her eyes. She looked around and almost closed them again at the sight of the glowing yellow balls heading straight for her, but her uncertain relief was restored as each one was harmlessly repelled. She turned to her young companion and tried to assemble her confusion into a question.

"…Wha?"

Tails smirked knowingly. He was enjoying being in control. "It's a defense system I came up with that utilizes the energy shield technology we use." He gave the hedgehog a moment to absorb this while he blasted the metal army with a wave of homing cluster missiles, destroying dozens every second. When she didn't, he elaborated. "Basically I just gave us a fire, lightning, water, and force shield all at once. It should block most of Eggman's weapons."

Amy thought about this for a moment. She wasn't about to ask how Tails had managed to mix a water shield with a fire shield, afraid that the explanation would not only confuse her more, but distract her pilot from keeping them alive. However, there was one question she felt was worth bringing to the forefront.

"YOU MEAN YOU HAD A SHIELD THIS WHOLE TIME AND YOU DIDN'T USE IT!?"

Tails resumed his focused tone. "The shield runs on rings energy and we've only got enough to last for 5 minutes, and that's _if_ we avoid getting hit by the big guns."

"Only five minutes?! Well then shouldn't we be going back to get more or something?"

Amy's lack of faith was beginning to insult the 8-year-old adventurer. "Amy, there's a Chaos Emerald down there. We can't let Eggman get his hands on it no matter what."

"But what if-"

"I won't lose."

Now much less restricted by the cloud of gunfire filling the air, the tiny plane had room to make attacks of its own. Aside from the missiles shredding the robotic ranks, an automated gatling gun had emerged from the bottom and was downing ships on its own. Hover mines were deploying from the back, leveling off at various heights, each one destroying a small formation. Twin photon missile generators, mounted along side the cluster bomb batteries, locked onto groups of ships at Tails's command.

Weaving dangerously through the legions of Robotnik's machines, the heroes fought unrelentingly. The fox's small jet seemed to rival the power of even the monstrous floating barge. It demolished one wave after another, filling the burning trees with shrapnel and husks of broken automatons. As each one exploded, the gratifying sight of a small green orb drifting down and the release of a captive animal justified every shot.

The badniks were becoming desperate now, losing all regard for their own 'lives' or those of their fellows. If there was even a small chance of hitting Tails it would be taken, regardless of how many bots had to be sacrificed. Some were even trying to crash into him. The sleek biplane did its best to avoid as much of this as it could, but such reckless attacks cannot be long evaded.

After about 2 minutes of this intense fighting, Tails began to realize that the number of enemies wasn't thinning. More and more kept appearing from Robotnik's fortress, and it showed no sign of letting up soon. Judging by the size of the barge, Tails would either run out of ammo or rings long before it ran out of troops. For a moment, Tails doubted himself. He wondered if it was a mistake to take this on by himself. He wondered if he should run and come back with more firepower. He wondered what Sonic would do, and whether or not it was what he should be doing.

His doubt was forgotten as remembrance gave birth to a brilliant idea.

Aside from all the 'conventional' weapons he'd installed, Tails had included something new. It was something he was sure Robotnik hadn't bothered defending against, the ultimate weapon against his metallic monstrosities. The life modulating pulse.

Robotnik's creations were a testament to his unbounded brilliance. He knew that building an army of ordinary machines was impractical. Each unit would require constant fuel and maintenance, producing an insurmountable drain on resources. Not only that, but conventional robots had programs that they adhered to, and were therefore, ultimately, predictable. But at the same time, an army of people wouldn't meet his needs either. While they were unpredictable and required only food and weapons to fight, people were weak. They tired easily, were vulnerable to just about everything, and were difficult to replace, not to mention the possibility of treason. So, tapping the immensity of his intellect, he combined the strengths of each by infusing living creatures into robotic shells. Pioneering new areas of biotechnology, he found a way to convert bio energy - and even life energy - into electricity. Not only would living beings provide him with a cheap energy source, but by integrating their minds into the programming he could produce a truly random element into the battle algorithms.

But humans were too big and their minds too evolved to use. Animals were a much more efficient choice. Nature had provided them with a wide array of flawless instincts, and their strong sense of self-preservation made them easier to manipulate. Thus began the mad doctor's twisted science of pairing animals with cybernetic bodies that suited their natural talents best.

Tails had thoroughly studied the remnants of a few badniks and had discovered one fatal flaw in Eggman's system. While shielded from a typical EMP (electromagnetic pulse), the LMP would offset the life balance of any living thing within range. This would in turn cause the machine's power intake to fluctuate, disable all coherent action, and, theoretically, bring it down.

As far as Tails could tell, the would-be dictator had no defense against it. But then, he'd only tested it on the few stray robots that occasionally wandered by his workshop. And, while the plane would protect him and Amy from the effects, any other creature passing by could be seriously hurt. Something like that was the last thing the fleeing villagers needed right now, but his quickly dropping ring and ammo gauges told Tails he needed to act soon.

He made his choice.

The dual-winged fighter darted straight upward, feeling its way through the thick awning of smoke. It emerged from the lightless haze into the blinding sunlight above, dusted with soot. The cunning fox continued ascending, watching with delight as the electronic minions followed him.

"_This should be far enough from the ground,_" he decided as he slipped open a panel on the dashboard and pressed the button beneath it. As the high-energy field filled the sky, a literal wave of confusion ran though the ranks of the thousands of bots filling the air. Their suspender jets fired in random directions, and their weapons discharged sporadically. Several exploded in midair while others buzzed around until they crashed. Once the majority of the troops were gone, Tails stopped the pulse to prevent the animals inside from sustaining permanent damage.

Tails let out a cheer, ignoring the confused hedgehog behind him. Amy looked around, unsure exactly why the massive army bombarding them just moments ago had destroyed itself. Perhaps, she thought, it was best that way.

The few fully automated drones that remained turned in unanimous retreat. Though the fox had harbored hopes that the main ship would suffer the same fate as its soldiers, it still hovered overhead, unhindered. However, the constant procession of robots flooding in had stopped. Maybe the crew had been disabled, he hypothesized. Whatever the reason, both heroic passengers were glad to see it end.

Once more, they descended down through the smog to find a place to land. Once more, they were met with a problem. It seems the endless army of badniks weren't all Robotnik had come equipped with, for below the opaque veil they met another of his destructive toys.

They were greeted with the metallic roar of a dragon. It was a dark, sickly shade of green reflecting the red light of the fires below. It was shaped like a whip with no handle; its body was a series of jointed, egg-shaped metal balls. Each ball was twice the size of the infinitesimal gray bi-plane, and there were almost twenty of them. Hundreds of daunting spikes - most certainly weapons - spiraled down its length like a mane. Horns like a bull topped its crown. It swam hypnotically through the sky like a serpent, swallowing its prey with the brilliant red lights in its eyes.

Leaving no time for thought, the sky snake swung its tail at them. As it lined up with its target, the tail whipped back, unleashing a small cloud of spines. Amy screamed and curled into a ball-like position. Tails let out a yelp as he jerked the controls right. The gigantic darts whizzed by at almost 200 MPH. Shield or not, they'd be dashed to pieces if something that big hit them.

The dragonbot repeated this action several times, not allowing its objective any time to recover. It continued its volley until the nameless aircraft was forced to turn away to dodge. At last, it ceased its spiky barrage and fired itself at the fox. It opened its cavernous mouth and bore its metallic fangs, preparing to devour the miniature jet. And though Tails had turned his eyes away for just a second, there was already no room to escape.

Following the only course he could think of, he shoved the throttle to full and blasted away from the mammoth machine. He sighed as it disengaged, realizing it couldn't catch up. "_Ok, I'm faster than it,_" he thought, "_I can use that._" He turned back around and narrowly avoided being sliced in half by the lasers coming from its eyes. The beams swept past him and returned for another pass. Tails weaved between and around the attack with ease, having avoided much worse from the robot army only moments ago. The biplane buzzed around like a mosquito, circling the segmented titan with dizzying speed. At last, he gained enough time to spare his right hand and activate the weapons again. A torrent of missiles and other munitions sparkled through the air like fireflies. The hulking dragon made no attempt to avoid the attacks, which seemed reasonable after they all hit and yielded not so much as a ding. "Looks like Robotnik's been experimenting with new alloys too."

"Does that mean we can go back and wait for Sonic now?" Amy begged into her seat.

"No, it means we've gotta find a weak spot!"

Tails probed the sub-boss. The most obvious target would be the blinding red headlights on its face, and since Robotnik had a habit of leaving vulnerabilities in the open (whether as a safety or out of arrogance) he decided to try it. But he was again forced into all-consuming dodging as the serpentine dragon began spinning its body like a centrifuge, erupting spines in all directions. Tails turned for a strategic retreat just as one ripped the end of his upper-right wing off. Ignoring the drag it created, Tails turned back around and made another pass. Moving on to its next programmed phase of attack, it curled its head back, as though taking a deep breath, and unleashed a cone of napalm.

At last, an opening! The fire shield would protect them from the napalm as they swooped down at its exposed face. The furry pilot smiled at his own cunning. With a decadent motion, he put the plane into a dive straight into the erupting metal jaws. He was about to begin firing when an urgent screech started sounding from the dashboard.

They had 20 rings left.

Tails froze. His heart skipped and stuttered. What had he done? Perhaps it _was_ foolish of him to take such a risk without Sonic there to back him up, he thought. His arms began to quiver on the flight stick, running his uncertain tremors though the plane. Now what? If he landed without disabling the dragon, it'd vaporize them on the ground. He could run, but then Eggman would get the emerald and enslave the village. He'd be letting them all down. He'd be letting himself down. Sonic…

Could he fight without a shield? He didn't like the prospect of that. What if he couldn't find its weakness? What if more badniks came out of the battleship? He imagined his shredded body lying among the flaming remains of his prized creation and, worse still, that of Amy. He couldn't put her in that kind of danger. He'd already been irresponsible enough to drag her this far. He wondered what Sonic would do. He'd never seen his hero give up before, but what else could he do? He had to leave the village for now. He had to fail.

Then he saw it. It flickered in the corner of his right eye, reflecting the glow of the ocean of fire surrounding them. Could he use it? He hadn't even begun testing that part of the plane yet. It had just as much a chance of blowing them up as it did of working. He remembered his idol's words and took that chance.

"What's that noise? What's going on?" the voice behind him edgily questioned. He ignored the distraction and, with little time left, slid open a thick rectangular tray in the control panel with an indent on top. He grasped the shimmering purple jewel at his side and quickly locked it in. He held his breath as he waited. His face beamed as all the gauges went to full. The alarm stopped sounding.

Then it got louder.

The Chaos Emerald began wildly arcing bolts of energy across the cockpit. Sparks flashed from the controls as they shorted out. They were drawing too much energy. He must've miscalculated something in the intake resistance, Tails thought. The weapons were dead and the steering barely responded. There was only one thing to do.

Wrestling with the stubborn controls, he forced the plane upside-down. The dragonbot had finally relented its fire breath to see how effective it had been. Tails thanked his lucky stars, since the shield could go out at any moment. He took the opportunity to retrieve the emerald from its slot, but was met with as much resistance as from the controls. Finally, after much desperate cajoling, the uncooperative stone came free.

"WHAT'S GOING ON!? LET ME OUT!!" yelled the frantic pink hedgehog over the crackling instruments. As though waiting for her to say something like this, Tails reached back and pulled a handle under her seat. The glass above her broke off and she was ejected from the upside-down craft, blasting toward the ground at uncomfortably high speeds.

Tails followed suit seconds before the jet flew down the robot's throat. The suspenders in the chair kicked in after a few feet and slowed his decent to a less life-threatening rate. Shortly before reaching the ground, however, the chair was slammed from above. Tails plummeted and plopped painfully against the shore of the village's reservoir. He doffed the chair and sat down, trying to get the wind back into himself. A nearby companion groaned and struggled to her feet. "I'm not dressed for this," she complained as she brushed the sand from the folds in her skirt. Apparently she'd had the same unpleasant landing.

He looked up to see what had happened. His beloved plane was performing its final trick. What had smacked him and his passenger onto the beach so harshly was an explosion. The dragon's head was replaced with a continuous field of yellow and red. The fiery bursts ran down the robot's body from segment to segment. They were like brilliant flowers of fire blooming across the dark sky and reflecting on the water below.

Along side the blasts tearing the titanic machine apart were intermittent streaks and flashes of colorful light. Not just the oranges and reds of natural fire, but greens and blues and violets. The many strange devices equipped on his craft appeared to be reacting in a very unexpected way. Maybe it was all that Chaos energy. Tails looked on with a sedate kind of awe. In that moment, it seemed like the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. His prized creation, on which he had worked so long and hard, was being destroyed before his eyes, but he hardly seemed to notice. It would have just ended up gathering dust in one of his hangers anyway, he thought. This was a glorious way for it to end. He could have pictured no better. It was grand. It was…

"Hey Amy," he said, his voice full of wonder and reverence, "I just thought of the perfect name for my plane."

Amy had been sitting beside him, also watching the show but getting a little anxious about the burning forest around them. After his remark, she turned to him with one eyebrow raised. He was still staring intently at the lights above. How on Earth he could be thinking of something like that at a time like this was beyond her. Maybe the loss of his plane had put him into some kind of delusional state.

"…Uuuuuumm…"

"I think I'll call it…The Finalé."

Amy decided to ignore this strange behavior and get them back to the matter at hand. She stood and patted Tails on the shoulder briskly. She spoke in her most gentle and understanding voice. "Come on kiddo, we gotta hurry."

Tails nodded, and they ran off into the blazing wilderness.

"Search every hut," a commanding voice roared over the flames. "Leave no stone unturned! I want that emerald! And grab some of those villagers! Might as well pick up some new 'recruits' while we're here."

The badniks, reminiscent of Eggman in shape, seemed to hurry the pace of their destruction at his voice. They stormed through the small forest community, tearing down houses, knocking over trees, unearthing fields, and burning everything in sight. The animals that had been too slow to escape were being corralled into an energy cage, awaiting use. Many wept and screamed as their worst nightmare came true around them. Some cried for those unfortunate enough to have evaded capture, those that were lost or had fallen somewhere amidst the burning shrubbery. Some cried for themselves, other for their children. All were captives of hopelessness and despair.

A hint of glee was emerging on Robotnik's face as he beheld his minions in action. He always indulged in the satisfaction of seeing one of his plans go smoothly. After all, who else could mount an army like this on such short notice and demolish 2 cities without any substantial opposition? Well, this wasn't quite a city, but he felt proud of his work nonetheless. These flawless operations would not last though. He knew that very soon a certain blue hedgehog would be along to harass him. Already, there'd been an attack from a plane that no doubt belonged to him. It was reported as destroyed, but the old genius didn't believe for a minute that he'd dealt with his biggest problem so easily. But maybe he had bought himself enough time to finish here and escape. Maybe he could avoid confrontation entirely if he was quick enough.

His hopes were immediately dashed as 2 painfully familiar silhouettes emerged from the veil of flames. "Eggman! You won't get away with this," shouted the one with 2 tails as it pointed at him accusingly.

The villagers arose from their despair and leapt up in joy, calling cheers to the heroes they all knew so well. Robotnik growled in frustration as his plans met their failing. "Damnit Sonic! Can't you mind your own business just once!?" The robots immediately assembled around him in a protective formation, as was their protocol for dealing with Sonic and the others when in their master's company. He stood up in his Egg Mobile and looked around, waiting for his sworn adversary to enter behind Tails and Amy. The flames held nothing but death. "What, is he waiting to make an entrance?" After another few seconds, his puzzled expression slowly changed into a sinister grin of realization. "I see," he said with intrigue, now leaning on the top of his windshield. "So little Tails has decided to take on the big bad Eggman all by himself this time, hm? And Amy," he looked over the bedraggled mess that had become her hair, "My, aren't you looking strong."

The demented doctor fell back into his chair laughing villainously. Tails and Amy shook with indignation. "You'll see," the fox yelled as convincingly as he could, though doubts plagued his expression.

The laughter ended with the abruptness of a brick wall on a highway. The haughty voice of Eggman, with its practiced cunning and malice, replaced it. "Well kiddies, I'd love to stay and play, but I'm afraid I've got some urgent matters to tend to. So for all our sakes, why don't you just walk away-oh yes, and hand over the Chaos Emerald you brought with you, and we'll both be on our way?" Unchanging gazes met his offer. "Fine then! If you're so intent on meddling with my plans, then I'll take care of you now! Attack!"

"Stand back Amy," said the anxious hero as he prepared to charge the approaching army of foot soldiers. She obeyed, having brought no weapons and hesitant to get in Tails's way, but remained on guard in case things didn't go well. These robots didn't look especially hard, anyway. They were the unpiloted variety: more predictable than the ones that used living creatures. Tails could handle this, no problem.

He dashed forward with the swiftness of a fox, weaving through the waves of laser beams and photon energy balls. As the vanguard drew close enough, he curled into a ball, rolling under the last of the firestorm, then jumped up and kick flipped off the face of the nearest bot. The crushing force of his foot left an indent in the egg-shaped face, which promptly exploded. Before the shrapnel could hit the ground Tails was on 3 more, using a quick whirl of his rear appendages to propel him in midair. Fists, elbows, knees, and feet fronted this unique version of the homing attack. He moved from badnik to badnik, demolishing more than half of the force surrounding the eggman. He thought he'd get them all in one move, but as he dashed into the discharging muzzle of an arm-mounted photon cannon, that hope was lost.

His ring energy protected him from being vaporized, but the jolt threw him flat on his back and expelled the rings. He rolled to avoid another blast and scurried to recollect the golden manifestations as they dispelled from instability. Only able to grab a few, he handsprung into the air and kept himself suspended with his propeller-like tails.

He dodged in midair and pondered his enemies. Attacking them head on again might not be the best idea, he thought. His rings were low. A few lucky shots, and the battle would be over. Besides, using the same attack over and over was boring. "_But then how do I beat them?_"

The fire and lasers didn't make for the best thinking conditions, but he was determined to get past them. Sonic could think on his feet, and he had to too! If he couldn't risk getting next to them, he'd have to hit them with something. Yeah, that made sense. But he hadn't brought any of his weapons, so that was out. Maybe he could distract them somehow and-no, that wasn't gonna work. Alright, back to that projectile idea. Maybe he could find something heavy and bomb them from above. But how could he get something like that into the air _and_ dodge long enough to get above them?

"_Maybe I don't have to._"

The airborne warrior glanced around quickly for the largest nearby tree. To his right was a maple. It wasn't the tallest in the village, but it stood out somehow. It was an old tree, one that held special meaning to those who had lived there. It was a place where children often played the simple games of childhood. It was a place lovers came to share the blue nights. Some days it would be a spot of bustle and gossip, others a corner of quiet solitude. It was the tree most decorated during the festival days, and the one most cherished all year round. Now it stood blackening as daggers of orange stabbed out of its trunk.

Tails flew over to it and gave its top as strong a kick as he could. As he'd hoped, the fire had weakened it, and with a splintering groan it fell onto the last of the robots below. He landed smugly before Robotnik, overflowing with satisfaction, basking in the exuberant celebration of the caged animals resounding in the background.

"Is that the best you can do?" he crossed his arms, trying to strike a cool pose.

"Not bad, fox boy," he said, calm and calculating as ever. "I guess you really _have_ gotten stronger."

It all happened in an instant. At first it was a tingle on his back, quickly accelerating to a burning sensation. His feet left the ground and his vision span and blurred. He saw his rings jump into the air and disappear into a vacuum-like device extending from Robotnik's Egg Mobile. He got up as quickly as he could, his head darting back and forth between the grinning doctor and the barrel of the robot's arm blaster.

Robotnik gave a fiendish outburst of laughter. "But not strong enough. You fool, did you really think I'd go after an emerald with a ground force of only 16 robots?! Hah! I would have expected better of you, Tails. But in the end, I guess you're really just as stupid as those other brainless beasts."

Tails shrank from his menacing and condemning glower. He staggered slowly backward and tripped. He turned to a sound behind him and saw another squad of robots, 10 times bigger than the first. One held Amy in its arms, covering her mouth with one hand. They were marching around his sides, surrounding him.

Robotnik looked down on the terrified creature at his mercy. "You know, I'm feeling generous today, so I'm going to give you one last chance to live. I'll be taking Amy with me as insurance in case that hedgehog decides to show up, but I have no use for you, Tails. So, if you'll just hand over the Chaos Emerald, I'll let you go."

The little fox felt the imminent death around him. He felt the sights of hundreds of weapons pinned to him. His body instinctively locked up, worried that any sudden motion might set them off. The intense pressure crushed his former boldness. Tails looked timidly at the animals in the prison behind the army's commander, those whose fate was being decided. Despite the bleakness of the situation, their faces remained eager. Hope burned on in their eyes. He was their hope.

He looked down at his trembling body with shame. He was afraid. Despite all his training, he was still too weak to even stand up without Sonic there to help him.

And he was afraid.

He should never have gone, he thought. He should've listened to Amy and waited. Now Eggman would have 3 emeralds, and Amy too. He'd let everyone down: Amy, the villagers, Sonic, himself. But what more could he have expected? He was just a kid after all. He looked again at his shaking hand and was disgusted. He wanted to spit at himself, but his mouth had gone dry.

"Come now, don't worry. I'm sure it's what Sonic would tell you to do if he were here."

Focusing this frustration and shame, Tails forced himself to his feet. He stared hard with childish anger into the doctor's glistening blue spectacles. On quivering legs, he delivered his response in the form of an akanbe.

"…grrrr, FIRE!!"

The frightened fox covered his eyes as the badniks discharged their guns, drowning Amy's muffled cries. He felt himself lifted from the ground by a tremendous force. There was an explosion followed by the sound of many small things hitting the ground, no doubt the scattered remains of his body. Then it was quiet.

Tails kept his eyes covered, afraid that if he tried to move his hands he'd find them missing. His fear seemed to be justified by the fact that he was floating. "_Is this death,_" he wondered. It didn't feel so bad. He'd always imagined dying as something cold and lonely. Instead, he found himself surrounded by a warm presence. It felt like someone was holding him.

His indulgence was interrupted as the ground gently returned to him. Startled, he opened his eyes to find himself quite alive and outside of the circle of guns. Amy stood beside him, equally bewildered. The robot formerly binding her lay scrapped across the forest floor. Still a bit dizzy, Tails looked to his right. His gasp melted into a rejuvenated smile as he beheld the familiar blue quills rippling in the drafts of heat.

Sonic took his arm from around Tails and patted him on the shoulder. He gave him a confident grin, quickly returning his gaze to the crowd of machines in front of him. The fire playing off their metal bodies perfectly reflected his heart. He was burning with anticipation.

Wild cheering arose behind the demented doctor. The villagers jumped up and down, yelling out to the world famous hero. Their fears instantly dissolved into joyous triumph. Without a doubt, their freedom was already assured. Sonic gave them a thumbs up.

Robotnik slammed his fists into the console before him. "Damnit, you WERE waiting to make an entrance!"

The shock was beginning to wear off of the rescued little fighters. "Sonic…you're here," Tails exclaimed, still not certain this was real.

"Of course! Have I ever let you down before? But that was pretty close, Tails. How did you get caught up in this anyway?"

Tails lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Sonic. I heard that Eggman was back again, and since we didn't know where you were I thought I could do it myself."

Sonic looked into the face of his longtime friend. Tails was so discouraged that he looked close to tears. Sonic gave a comforting smile and spoke softly. "Hey, don't sweat it big guy. It was real brave of you to take on Eggman by yourself. Even I have trouble doing that sometimes. And from the looks of things, you put up a pretty good fight."

"…Really?" the fox-child slowly raised his eyes to meet Sonic's again.

"You bet. Actually, I would've been pretty angry if you _hadn't_ left a few bolt buckets for me to kick around." Tails laughed a little as Sonic rubbed his head. "Just be a little more careful next time, ok? You know I don't want to see you get hurt."

But during the whole exchange, something had been slowly creeping up behind them. Finally it pounced at the unsuspecting hedgehog, snaring him in its viselike grip.

"Oh Sonic! I missed you so much," the pink haired girl sang, nuzzling her face into his back.

"Uh…hi Amy," he responded impassively.

Robotnik considered retreating during this reunion but decided to wait, hoping that one of his servants would come through with the emerald at the last minute. He silently scanned his control board for approaching bots.

Sonic jumped into a ball and rolled out of the clingy hedgehog's arms. "You guys wait here," he ordered as he strode forward. "It's my turn."

Robotnik cursed as his time expired. Sonic addressed him playfully. "Hey Eggman, long time no see. I was beginning to think you'd finally gotten tired of losing."

Robotnik growled indignantly, but held his temper. He muttered something inaudible and, pausing briefly, responded. "I don't suppose I could just ASK you to give me the Chaos Emerald and leave me alone."

"What's the matter doc? Don't tell me you're giving up already! We haven't even gotten started yet!"

"Sorry Sonic, but I haven't got time for our usual routine. I've got more important things to do than play around with the likes of you. Now be gone before I lose my patience."

Sonic still smiled, comfortable in his arrogance. "You seem pretty sure of yourself for a guy who's lost every battle in his life."

Rather than match his foe's ego, Robotnik continued to speak in a confident and serious tone. "Like I said, you insignificant pest, I haven't got time for games. This is your last chance. I'll even let you keep the emerald, just leave!"

Sonic sneered at this insane request. "Sorry Eggman, but whenever I leave you alone for too long you have this nasty habit of trying to enslave the planet."

"Hmph! Very well then," the Eggman resolved. "I tried to be nice and do this the easy way, but if you're so eager to play then I'll gladly provide you with your last game!"

"Finally," Sonic yawned his way into a fighting stance.

"Don't be so sure of yourself, hedgehog. You'll find that my robots have improved quite a bit since you last met them!"

Robotnik blinked, and Sonic was gone. Three badniks exploded, guiding his eye to the blue furred creature waiting impatiently behind the army. "Look like the same old rivet heads to me," he mocked.

Robotnik roared and commanded his minions to attack. The scores of inanimate soldiers charged their target, some shooting, some merely trying to pile on top of him. With a rush of speed he passed through their ranks once more, but this time without destroying any.

"Alright Doc, if you're in such a hurry then I'll make this quick," he exclaimed as he landed on the other side. He focused on the tiny spectacles his rival hid behind as he focused his ring energy onto his body. Blue embers rose around him, ominously contrasting the fire behind him. "Ready?"

The doctor reflexively ducked and covered his head as wild streaks of cobalt filled the air. Tails and Amy felt themselves being lifted from the ground by a mighty gale. Explosions echoed across the horizon, before them and all around them, as Sonic tore through the hoard of automatons. The heroic fox took hold of his companion, who was too busy trying to keep her dress down to keep herself from being blown away, and fought the gusts with all his might, barely managing to hold his own against the torrent. He instinctively shielded his eyes as clouds of dust blinded him. The winds whipped wildly the compass round, drastically changing direction almost every second. The maelstrom of chaotic sound lasted only 9 seconds. As the earth settled, all spectators were amazed by the sight that returned to them.

The sun was shining again! Not only had Sonic destroyed every robot, but he'd moved so fast he created a vacuumed and smothered the fire! The entire forest had been put out, and even the dark layer of gloom above them had been dispelled. The sky was blue again.

The smug hedgehog was leaning against the cage he'd just blown open. The villagers inside cheered praises to him, hardly seeing a reason to hurry out. He casually tossed the green Chaos Emerald up and caught it looking haughtily at Robotnik, whose craft was wobbling slightly from the small group of attacks Sonic had hit it with. "Well, well, look what I found. I take it this is why you're here?" Robotnik clenches his gloved fists, grumbling his usual curses into his smoking console. "Hey Eggman, you're not lookin' too good. I think you'd better cool off a little," the wild haired hero teased. "Wouldn't want you to hardboil yourself."

The accomplished scientist rose growling from his place and stepped onto the pod's cushioned leather seat, as though stepping outside the bounds of their typical encounters. He pointed condemningly at his rival of many occasions, shaking his other fist emphatically.

"Mark my words, Sonic, this time you'll regret interfering with my plans!"

"You say that every time," he responded, sounding as bored as he could.

Eggman sat back down and pressed a button. A blue beam of light descended from above and enveloped his hovercraft. "This time I mean it."

He disappeared into the teleport beam, which followed him shortly after. Tails and Amy rushed to Sonic's side, eager to be with their friend after his long absence and somewhat worried that he'd leave again if they didn't. The people paraded out of their prison. Some of the ones that had evaded capture were returning now, rushing to their loved ones in tearful reunions. Some of them went out to search for the lost or to start rebuilding. But most of them stuck around to praise Sonic some more.

But before any dialogue could begin, the forest was rocked by the sound of massive engines erupting. The floating battleship began drifting toward the horizon. It looked like it was crawling, but Sonic knew first hand how fast it was. He'd barely been able to follow it to the village. It was already a few miles ahead of him.

"He's getting away," Tails exclaimed like a cartoon character.

"Don't count on it! Grab my hand, Tails!"

"Huh?"

Sonic leapt into the air dragging his 2-tailed companion behind, excited and eager to continue his newest adventure.

"Chaos Control!!"


	5. Chapter 5

WUMP.

The sound echoed through the mane of earthbound quills for but an instant. The natural fur insulators had rendered the mighty blow nothing but a memory. As though deeming this fate unsatisfactory, it tried itself again. Meeting the same defeat, it repeated again and again. On and on it furiously persisted, growing louder and more frequent with every occurrence. As the dull thuds began to blend into one other, they finally gave way to the splintering crack of wood. The thunderous crash rang proudly past the conifer barrier to the edge of the island, still only to fade into the endless blue horizon.

Knuckles leapt out of the tree, smoke rising from his gloves and from the scorched hole in the trunk above. He hit the ground running without a trace of sweat. He weaved through the forest with trained passion and diligence, bounding off trees and over rocks. The red streak's pace was vigorous, but not so fast that he couldn't stay fully aware of his surroundings. Briefly, he allowed himself a pleased grin as he examined the shimmering green stone in his hand.

He'd been fortunate, he reminded himself. They were over land when the emerald shattered and the nearby waters were shallow. To date, Knuckles had never had to brave the ocean floor in the duties of his guardianship. But from what Tails had explained to him about air pressure and the depths of those vast bodies of water, that was something to be thankful for.

"_Then again, the emerald pieces always seem to drift farther from where they fall than I expect them to,_" he sobered his optimism. The gusts beneath the floating island were powerful and the shards small. Hundreds of miles sometimes separated them. And distance wasn't his only concern. The Master Emerald's fragments had a tendency to end up in the most unlikely, seemingly impossible places. For instance, the one he'd just broken out of a small crack in a huge tree. He often wondered if the emerald somehow guided itself into these hidden places, perhaps to protect itself from being found until he arrived or maybe to punish him for failing to protect it in the first place.

The echidna regained his focus. "_Doesn't matter. Whatever the gods send my way, I WILL fulfill my destiny._"

At the moment, the gods were being very benevolent. The majority of the emerald pieces had landed on this island. It was a place his home frequently passed over that was about the same size. Civilization had claimed a share of it; the shores were lined with large, luxurious buildings backed by small inland towns. But almost the entire inland, and even some of the shore, had been left untouched. It was this region that Knuckles now traveled through. Very few of the gems he sought had landed in town, for which he was grateful. While not altogether unpleasant, the guardian found the human world a strange and often disagreeable one that was far from safe for his emerald. Having to wrest a shard from some unfortunate passerby that thought it looked pretty was a situation Knuckles was glad he'd never had to face.

Presently he searched a peculiar forest that took up about a third of the island. There was something about it that bothered the dreadlocked warrior, but he couldn't quite pin it down. It wasn't the fact that it consisted entirely of pine trees and 3 or 4 forms of undergrowth. He knew such uniformity of growth was not uncommon. Nor was it the way those pines contrasted the tropical air hanging over them, nor the fact that they were getting taller and thicker the deeper in he got. He thought that it might have been the strange growths beginning to develop, like the reflective metallic sheen appearing on the pinecones or way the bushes of red and green berries were growing in the shape of rings, but that shouldn't have been enough to put him on guard.

"_There's something in the back of my mind,_" he thought. "_Something about this place that I know, but can't think of._"

Knuckles wanted to stop and ponder it but told himself he didn't have time. "_Eggman is bound to show up sooner or later. That guy never gives up. If he was after the Master Emerald, he must have something planned. I should get as many pieces as I can before I have to deal with his robots._" An eager smile crossed his muzzle as memories of his many adventures arose. "_I'll probably run into Sonic, too. Maybe I'll lend him a hand this time. It's been a while since I had a good fight._"

The dreaming hunter's mind snapped back to the present as a familiar sensation nibbled at his senses. He skidded to a halt and concentrated on it. It had the gentleness of a mother's whisper that filled all listeners with life, but behind it was the fearsome power of a warrior that demanded the highest reverence. Its voice was faint and it called out with urgency that fed Knuckles's blazing determination. He moved toward it at an intermittent jog, quickly but vigilantly following his ethereal senses until the silent signal was almost on top if him.

Resorting now to his eyes, Knuckles sifted through plants and searched the adjacent trees for a green sparkle. He saw one.

"Hah," he exclaimed a little more enthusiastically than he intended to. "An easy one."

Through the thick ceiling of green needles Knuckles had caught sight of the white flash of reflected sunlight. Hanging in one of the ring shaped vine bushes, hanging in turn from a tree branch, was a splinter of his precious emerald. He dug his spiked fists into the bark and rose effortlessly through the bristle. Taking care not to damage the innocent plant, the guardian untangled his prize and dropped gently back down.

"At this rate I'll be done before sundown," he said inspecting the shard's size. Seeing the Master Emerald in this state made him anxious. Still, whenever he stared into it, even just a jagged part of it, he was filled with peace. It was home; it was certainty, the promise that everything would turn out right, his only comfort.

Knuckles was about to put the gem away and resume his search when something changed. The reflected glow within it faded to darkness, but its surfaces flickered dimly with orange light.

So did his hand.

Blinding sheets of flashing light consumed all vision. Fervorous daggers rippled through the air, bringing autumn colors to the trees that knew no seasons. The sun could not be seen behind the glowing wall of soot they'd created, its light instead impersonated by the amber ardor. Nothing was spared of the blaze's vehemence that raged so intensely it threatened to smother itself.

Knuckles didn't think. He just went, following the only clear path.

He darted and ducked through the small openings and around the burning branches, trying to avoid contact, but giving priority to his speed. There was nothing but fire as far as he could see and the heat was already singeing his fur.

"_A firebomb,_" he wildly mused. "_Some kinda trap? But how did it spread so quickly?_"

Abandoning this speculation to futility, he concentrated his whole purpose into finding an escape. Though the flames offered little choice in direction, fate remained his ally still.

"_A clearing!_" He spotted an area glowing with natural light directly ahead of him, accessible through the inferno. Had he thought for a moment about what he would do once he got there nothing especially brilliant would've presented itself, but there was nowhere else to go. Knuckles burst through the tree line. The heat seemed to invert to a piercing chill as he looked around.

There was the sky, no longer obscured by branches and clouds, red as his own fur. And there were the mountains and the forests below them, and beyond the edge of the desert and the ruins. There before him was the emerald shrine, the fire guarding it, and there beneath him was the same spot he'd stood earlier that day.

The Master Emerald stood over this drama, mournfully shedding its dazzling light on the dying land. Knuckles stared at it, confused at first then spellbound. Its radiant presence consumed his vision. A pair of violet eyes flashed deep within it-his own?

The image faded into the emerald's brilliance. His perspective refocused, and he was once again staring at the green stone in his hand.

Awake from his trance, Knuckles spun wide-eyed and disturbed. He was no longer on Angel Island nor in the place the fire had started. His new surroundings appeared to be part of the pine forest, but much deeper in than he'd been before. No sunlight penetrated the tapestry of needles above him, but all was not dark. Bioluminescent vines weaved spirals ascending the massive branches. Neon red, green, yellow, blue, orange, and pink flooded the forest floor radiating from bulbs clinging to every plant and tree. The pinecones had completed their metallic transformation and rounded their shape, reflecting the light strings in their gold and silver facets. Even the stones had refined their form into smoothened blocks piled at the base of several trees, like a foundation, resting on beds of white moss.

Searing perspiration trickled down the crimson animal's body. He held a defensive pose as he struggled to regain him bearings. The unnatural light was unsettling enough, but what kept him on edge even after he recognized his environment was the completely dead stillness of it.

Satisfied that there was no immediate threat he checked his emerald shards and allowed his mind to ponder what he'd just seen, as well as the vision of that morning that he'd all but forgotten about. He was certain now that it wasn't one of Eggman's tricks.

"_Is this the future,_" he wondered at the reflection in his hands. "_Is this what will happen if I fail?_" He slipped the gems back into his glove.

"_Something big,_" he reminded himself. "_If it isn't already happening, it will be soon._"

There wasn't enough information to draw any useful conclusions from. There was nothing but terrifying urgency and the chill still pervading his memory. He did his best to push it all to the back of his mind and return to his duties. More than ever, he knew there was no time to waste.

"I gotta find Sonic. He'll know what's going on."

There was something else. He knew what was bothering him about this island.

During both visions, over the side of his home near the shrine, it had been there. It bathed in the edge of the fire's light, an ominous portent that seemed focused especially on him. Knuckles couldn't explain it, but the feeling was clear enough. This place meant something to him. Something was here.

The lone warrior surveyed the silent forest again, feeling suddenly vulnerable. A faint vibration among the vibrant undergrowth caught his senses. It wasn't an emerald shard.

The crafty guardian put his hand to his face and shook his head, pretending he was still disoriented. He turned around and trod unsteadily toward the hiding presence. Just as he passed by it, he swung around and leapt headlong into the glowing bushes. His hands found a scrawny neck and pinned it violently against a tree. As he positioned himself to smash its head in, it addressed him nervously. He scowled, its face now in view.

"He-hey Knuckles. What's up?"

"Fang," he spat the name. "What're you up to?"

"What, can't a guy go for a walk in the woods without being assaulted," he said with comical yet calculated guilt.

"You've been following me." Knuckles tightened his grip. "What're you after?"

Fang did his best to ignore his throat constriction. "I was kinda wondering the same about you. You usually stay on your island unless something important's happening. So I figured I'd tail you and see if it was anything interesting."

"Quit acting innocent; you're working with Eggman!"

"Since when do I work with people," the wolf-weasel asked, insulted. "Especially someone like Eggman. I don't think that guy's succeeded at anything in his entire life." He watched as the echidna considered this. "Why? Is he trying to conquer the world again?"

Knuckles peered hard at the sly creature in his grasp. He wasn't going to hurt his captive, or keep him, unless he was sure that he'd done something wrong and Fang clearly knew that. Unable to prove his suspicions and beginning to doubt them himself, he reluctantly let the hunter down.

"I don't know. He showed up on my island this morning and tried to steal my emerald."

"Oooh," sang the intrigued opportunist. "So that's what you've been picking up all day."

Knuckles flinched, realizing he'd said too much. "You stay away from my emerald! If you so much as touch a single piece I'll hunt you down and tear-"

"Calm down, calm down!" Fang waved his hands defensively, adding an affable smile to his ever-vicious visage. "Geez, there's no trust left in this world. I was actually thinking of helping you look for them." His smile became a smirk. "For a small fee, or course."

"I'll manage," the echidna replied coldly as he turned to leave.

"Suit yourself." Fang shrugged and began to take his own path, but stopped. "Oh, by the way, you didn't happen to find any Chaos Emeralds while you were looking, did ya?"

Knuckles swung around, his mistrust flaring again. "What do you want with the Chaos Emeralds?!"

"Money," he said bluntly. "What else?"

Reproachful eyes burned contemptuously into the selfishness before them.

"I'll take that as a no."

The heir of destiny continued on his journey, following the voice of the Master calling to him, unsure of where he was or where he was going. Fang laughed at how easily controlled he was, how pitiful his wasted passion was. Fixing his hat, he leapt into the curtain of branches and returned to the hidden catwalk above.


	6. Robotnik's Log 1

Robotnik's Log 303.92.4

I've postponed the scheduled badnik redesign this week on a sudden hunch and decided to spend the time researching the golden ring phenomenon that has time and again sustained Sonic and his friends despite my brilliant efforts. If I could find a way to control or neutralize them, I would be unstoppable! It's been many years since the last time I tried to decipher their secrets and my means of research have advanced tremendously. And with my genius, I've no doubt that I will succeed!!

Despite their presence in our world since the dawn of recorded history, the origin of rings and many of their properties remains a mystery even to me, the greatest scientific mind ever known!! People regard them as a naturally occurring fact of life, as much a part of our world as something like the sun or gravity. For eons, the fools of this planet have made little progress in understanding them. But in a mere number of weeks I, the great Dr. Ivo Robotnik, learned more than the peons of the past could in all their combined lifetimes!! Contrary to the currently accepted "theories," rings are not a part of nature but actually originate from another dimension, quite possibly the dimension used to house the Chaos Emeralds. Simply ask yourself, "Why are rings only present on Earth and its surrounding atmosphere and moon," "Why do they never generate in the presence of a sentient being," "How do they float and spin indefinitely without losing energy," "Why do they appear in rows and geometric patterns," and "Why are they shaped like rings and not spheres, the most condensed form of matter and energy." The only answer the blithering scientists of today can manage is "Because."

My answers are simple. Their shape and formations can be explained by the differing physics of other dimensions as witnessed in the often-surreal Chaos Dimension. When rings first appear, I suspect they're still somewhat connected to the other dimension, allowing them to draw from some energy source or perhaps to defy gravity (this also explains why they stop floating once jarred from their original position). Their shyness to intelligent life forms most likely stems from the larger quantity of life energy found in such beings – perhaps there's some kind of magnetic repulsion in the other dimension. But their uniqueness to Earth seems to contradict that. If life repels them, why would they gather around the only cluster of life for light-years around? Either something else on the planet has an attractive force stronger than the repulsive force (a device made by the ancients?), they require a small amount of life energy to exist, or they're being placed consciously by some extra-planar being. And since dumping rings into the upper thermosphere just so they can spin there for decades untouched isn't what I'd call 'conscious,' I've ruled out the latter.

Anyway, I'm getting off topic. The first thing I did today was run through my old notes to see where I left off. I recall now that there are more questions than answers, but that's soon to change!

My first experiment was an attempt to synthesize the highly durable material that the rings are made of. I made little more progress than previous attempts; the instruments barely had time to recognize its existence before the particles dispelled. It seems that the energy of the ring provides its atomic structure with stability. I ventured to prove this by imbuing my own ring with ring energy as it was synthesizing. That effort was successful, though entirely academic since no other shape would retain the energy.

My next study centered on the "half ring" quandary. Any idiot from the scientific community could tell you that there's no such thing as a fraction of a ring; every ring has the same amount of energy at any given time, and if any energy short of the whole unit is drained you still have a full ring. What they can't tell you is how that's possible, nor why it doesn't work for rings that aren't absorbed into something. My previous study revealed that, within a fraction of a second, the ring actually recharges its energy! At the time I was unable to confirm whether the ring energy was duplicating itself or being drawn from somewhere, but today I have proven myself correct! The question I was left with was why rings that weren't absorbed didn't regenerate, but today I remembered the floating and spinning. I found an unmoved ring and drew a small dose of energy from it (a difficult task since I couldn't move it), and indeed it DID recharge! This solidifies my extra-dimensional theory. Rings in their original position are connected to the other dimension's power source from which they draw energy, while other rings simply lose stability and disappear. Absorbed rings are also connected, though I'm not quite sure how. Perhaps the carrier serves as some kind of dimensional anchor, or being in energy form releases it from some physical bond.

Another issue I'd previously puzzled on was the infamous "ring field." An absorbed ring…well, for lack of a better word, "exposes" its carrier to a field of energy. I hesitate to say something like "surrounds" because the field is actually stemming from the carrier's body – every portion of it at once. Anyway, this energy is much weaker than actual ring energy, but it never ends. No matter how much is drained, it will replenish itself with the same speed of a recharging ring. Tapping this field has no visible effect on the rings, and the more rings the carrier has absorbed, the greater the field's size. For many years it was thought that the "gravity" of the ring energy was attracting lesser energy from the atmosphere, but it was proven that the field wasn't coming from any outside source. Sonic utilizes this field effect when he transforms, and I've incorporated it into a number of my machines. Clearly the same dimensional link that recharges rings maintains this field; perhaps the presence of the seemingly limitless energy on the other side is responsible. My tests didn't uncover anything new in this area.

At about this point I asked myself the question, "How can a particular band of energy open a gateway to another dimension?" I pondered this for a moment, then I recalled the giant gateway rings. If big rings are just portals to another dimension…could the small ones be too? Could it be that the _true_ ring is neither the physical loop nor the energy it possesses, but an intangible link to another plane with an endless supply of power? It's plausible, and it offers a more satisfactory explanation of the field effect. The fact that I needed rings - 50 if I remember correctly - to power my old Dimensional Ring Generator on Flickies' Island seems to support it. If this is true, then a ring that's not connected to its source is no longer a ring, merely a loop of ring energy…hm. In any case, I must renew efforts to explore other dimensions. If I could discover the source of the rings' power, not even the Chaos Emeralds could stop me!

Next I tried to determine if there was any significance in the fact that the rings spin when they appear. I spun a couple and measured any changes. There were none. It's probably just some irrelevant detail.

My recent discovery of Sonic's ability to dash along a trail of rings has led me to examine the properties of rings arranged in rows and various shapes. Results have thus far been fruitless.

The single most confusing aspect of rings is their inherent behavior of protecting their carrier without any prompting to do so. Most of my prior experiments in this area involved trying to get around it more than understand it. At first I thought the rings might be phasing the carrier through the other dimension to avoid the damage, but it's a far simpler process. The ring energy charges the carrier's physical form making it temporarily invulnerable to any kind of change, which is essentially what injury is. This process of charging the carrier causes the ring energy to be outside of the carrier and forces it to manifest itself as rings, which lose stability because of the energy lost protecting the carrier. Eventually I discovered that with enough energy the protection could be overpowered and the carrier damaged, but such large amounts of energy would require several Chaos Emeralds to be maintained. If pure ring energy could exist in our dimension and be used as a weapon, overpowering the rings would be simple, but I guess it can't be helped. Finding a way to stop the rings from automatically protecting their carrier would be an unparalleled breakthrough, but that would require knowing why they do that in the first place and I don't even know where to begin testing. What could possibly make energy react in such a seemingly cognizant way? Could they really be the design of the ancients? Are they being controlled by some outside force?…Bah. What was I thinking? This is hopeless. I'll resume my regular schedule tomorrow.

Notes for today:

-Send a scout to Angel Island to look for big rings.

-Check up on my old College buddies.

-Repair the disposal on the Egg-Orion.


	7. Disk 2: Prologue

As the Earth celebrated its escape from destruction, it didn't notice the two specks of light blazing through the darkness above. It didn't see its savior die.

Sonic flew desperately onward, hand outstretched to the falling hedgehog before him. He pushed himself with all his might, but somehow it seemed to keep just out of his reach. He knew it wouldn't be long before the gravity would be too much for him to break free of. Normally, he would have enjoyed the pressure, but something was different this time. He pressed unrelentingly on.

"Shadow!" he telepathically cried, "Give me your hand!"

"Sonic…I'm sorry," he replied.

"Come on Shadow, if we don't hurry then we won't be able to make it back to the colony!" the golden blur persisted.

"I'm sorry Sonic. I'm so sorry" he continued babbling.

"Shadow, what are you talking about? Just grab my hand!"

"It's too late for me, Sonic" he said with a painful expression. "I can no longer maintain this form."

Sonic moved left to grab small string of rings and quickly returned. An intense red aura of heat surrounded the pair as they plummeted. Sonic looked into Shadow's eyes, feverishly trying to understand what he was thinking.

"Take my hand, I'll give you some ring energy! We can make it back together!"

"No Sonic," he weakly spoke, "rings can't help me now. My heart is too burdened with the weight of my sins."

Now Sonic was really confused, and getting a little frustrated. What was wrong with Shadow? Why wouldn't he just let Sonic help him? Sonic continued to beg his glowing companion, that nagging sense of worry growing ever stronger.

"Shadow…I don't understand."

"Sonic, please…you have to forgive me."

"What?"

"All that I've done…all the people I hurt…" his thoughts felt strained. Sonic knew he would be out of rings any second. "It wasn't me."

"Huh?"

"He made me do it. Everything. You have to believe me, Sonic. Please believe me. I didn't want to hurt anyone."

Radiant tears began freely streaming from his ruby eyes. During their short time together, Sonic had never dreamed that Shadow was even capable of such an open display of genuine sorrow.

"You have to…destroy…him. Sonic…he made me what I am. Don't…let him do it…to anyone else." He looked pleadingly into the gold clad figure's eyes. "Don't…let him do it…to you."

"Who," Sonic peered into his own brilliant reflection in the frantic creature's tear filled eyes, "you mean Gerald Robotnik?"

"No, not him. He tried, but…" Something seemed to choked Shadow's mind. He could say no more.

The supercharged hedgehog darted right, collected a group of six rings, and returned. There wasn't much time left.

"We can talk about it later, Shadow. We'll work it out together. But right now, for Maria's sake, just grab my hand!!"

Shadow's eyes were filled with a sudden new hope. Struggling, he stretched his arm forward, inching closer and closer to his salvation. But abruptly, his fur reverted to black, and his super form left him.

"SHADOW!!"

Using some of his last rings to provide a small boost, Sonic made a final lunge for Shadow's wrist. His eyes grew wide with disbelief as his falling ally slipped from his grasp, incinerated before him, and vanished. Sonic floated above his planet, the hand holding the dead hedgehog's bracelet trembling slightly. He hung there for several seconds, frozen. It was the first time he'd ever failed at anything. It was the first time he'd lost a friend…

"Where is Shadow?" Rouge asked. Sonic shook his head in silent response.

"Do you really think…that the professor created him…Shadow…to carry out the revenge on all those who live here on earth?" she asked, gently cradling the bracelet in her hands.

That was a good question, one that Sonic wasn't sure about anymore. Was Shadow just a tool of destruction set loose by a madman? No, that couldn't be. He was…

"He was what he was;" he resolved, "a brave and heroic hedgehog who gave his life to save this planet. Shadow the hedgehog…"

Staring blankly out the window, more and more questions arose. What had driven Shadow to such a distressed state? What did he mean when he said someone other than Gerald Robotnik had made him do what he did? Who could it have been? Sonic pondered in vain, fighting the anguish and frustration rising inside him. Shadow's words still rang in his head.

"Rings can't help me now. My heart is too burdened with the weight of my sins."

What did he mean? What did his feelings have to do with him staying in super form? Sure, Sonic always felt a little…different when he was super, but why would anything but ring energy play a part in staying transformed? Had Shadow been speaking metaphorically, or was it something more? What was Shadow, anyway?

"Created… The ultimate life form…"

"What's the mater Sonic?" Amy asked.

"Oh, it's nothing" Sonic said more to himself than to Amy. "Let's go home. To the planet as cool and blue as me!"

He decided to let it drop. This kind of stuff gave him a headache. Still, just as he left for the docking bay, he turned to the emptiness into which his friend had disappeared, and asked himself one more time what he was. The answer came immediately.

He was a hero.

With unresolved feelings, Sonic decided to forget about it for now and take a little vacation with his friends. As he turned to leave, he whispered to himself.

"Sayonara, Shadow the hedgehog."

Sonic and his friends have been on many adventures since then

But all things must end

Sonic's world is about to change forever

And his adventures as he knows them

Finish


End file.
